Emotion-based database security

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method is provided. The method may include determining a behavioral pattern of a user based on historical data access events and historical data access conditions corresponding to the historical data access events, wherein the data access events are associated with a computer enterprise system. A data access request from the user with respect to a secure resource may be received from a computing node connected to the computer enterprise system. A behavioral state of the user may be determined with respect to the data access request and data access conditions corresponding to the data access request. A discrepancy between the behavioral pattern and the behavioral state of the user may be detected. A security risk level may be determined based on the discrepancy. In response to determining that the security risk level exceeds a predetermined threshold, a security action may be performed with respect to the secure resource.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of databasesecurity, and in particular to data security management.

An enterprise or organization may possess assets or resources includingsensitive, protected, confidential, or at-risk data and/or informationby which various operations may be conducted. The data may be madeavailable to insiders (i.e., persons, individuals, or members of theenterprise) for handling and processing, for example, to performfunctions and activities to support the operations. The insiders mayinclude, for example, employees and contractors of the enterprise.Making the data available or otherwise accessible to the insiders maythreaten the security, privacy, and integrity of the data and put theenterprise at risk of potential damages and losses. For example, a databreach or data leak may occur as a result of particular actions taken byan insider in handling and processing the data if the actions violate ordeviate from associated data security rules, procedures, and practices.The data leak may cause exposure, loss, or compromise of the data suchas by allowing for its unauthorized collection, distribution, theft, orcorruption.

An enterprise may implement various computer, network, and/or datasecurity controls to protect and maintain the confidentiality andintegrity of sensitive data. For example, the security controls may beimplemented to protect and maintain the security of the data as well ascomputer systems by which the data may be stored and handled orotherwise made available. The security controls may include, forexample, rules for restricting or limiting access to the data such asbased on predetermined levels of data sensitivity, which may be enforcedby requiring corresponding levels of data or access privilege,permission, or clearance in order for access to the data to be granted.In some instances, the sensitive data may be accessed withoutrestriction by trusted insiders that possess the appropriatepermissions. The data access permissions may be assigned to insidersbased on, for example, job, task, role, duty, function, level ofseniority, or the like. Accordingly, the sensitive data may be securedand made available to the insiders so as to reduce the associated riskto the enterprise.

Unfortunately, not every trusted insider may be trustworthy, asinstances of insiders acting against enterprises have increasinglyshown. Such instances may include, for example, insiders causing dataleakage events. A data leakage event (e.g., a data or security breach)may include and be caused by, for example, acts of stealing and/orrelated acts that may be performed by an insider to obtain possession ofor control over data belonging to an enterprise, such as for externaldistribution or exposure of the data, or to otherwise compromise theconfidentiality and integrity of the data. For example, an insider maycause a data leakage event by accessing, collecting, and externallydistributing sensitive data of an enterprise to an industry competitor.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, a computer-implementedmethod is provided. The method may include determining a behavioralpattern of a user based on historical data access events and historicaldata access conditions corresponding to the historical data accessevents, wherein the data access events are associated with a computerenterprise system. A data access request from the user with respect to asecure resource may be received from a computing node connected to thecomputer enterprise system. A behavioral state of the user may bedetermined with respect to the data access request and data accessconditions corresponding to the data access request. A discrepancybetween the behavioral pattern and the behavioral state of the user maybe detected. A security risk level may be determined based on thediscrepancy. In response to determining that the security risk levelexceeds a predetermined threshold, a security action may be performedwith respect to the secure resource.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram depicting a security managementsystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an aspect of thesecurity management system, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a client device, a secure resourcedevice, and/or a secure resource access management device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts abstraction model layers, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merelyschematic representations, not intended to portray specific parametersof the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typicalembodiments of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering representslike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein forpurposes of describing and illustrating claimed structures and methodsthat may be embodied in various forms, and are not intended to beexhaustive in any way, or limited to the disclosed embodiments. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the one or more embodiments, practical applications, ortechnical improvements over current technologies, or to enable those ofordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosedherein. As described, details of well-known features and techniques maybe omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of thepresent invention.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” or the like, indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include one or more particular features, structures, orcharacteristics, but it shall be understood that such particularfeatures, structures, or characteristics may or may not be common toeach and every disclosed embodiment of the present invention herein.Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to any one particularembodiment per se. As such, when one or more particular features,structures, or characteristics is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of thoseskilled in the art to affect such one or more features, structures, orcharacteristics in connection with other embodiments, where applicable,whether or not explicitly described.

An enterprise may implement a computer system such as an enterprisecomputer system, for example, to host data, and/or to otherwise store,handle, process, and communicate the data to support and facilitateavailability and use of the data by insiders of the enterprise. Theinsiders may act on the data by providing inputs to the computer systemwith respect to the data to control and direct the hosting of the dataso as to perform actions to support the everyday activities, functions,and operations of the enterprise. The computer system may include, forexample, an internal network and computing environment having one ormore computing platforms, data handling systems, database systems, datastorage systems, and networking systems by which the data may be hosted.The computer system may also include, for example, a security systemsuch as a computer, network, and/or data security system by which asecured boundary (e.g., a firewall) may be established for protectingand maintaining the security and integrity of the data, as well as theinternal network and computing environment by which the data may behosted. For example, the secured boundary may be established to protectthe computer system from attacks initiated external to the securedboundary. The security system may include, for example, a securitymanagement system.

The security management system may monitor and control incoming andoutgoing data and network traffic between a trusted internal network(e.g., the internal network and computing environment of the enterprisecomputer system) and an untrusted external network. The incoming andoutgoing network traffic may be monitored and controlled, for example,based on a first set of predetermined security rules that may bedefined, generated, and provided for enforcement with respect to thesecured boundary. The security management system may also monitor andcontrol data and network traffic throughout the trusted internalnetwork. The internal data and network traffic may be monitored andcontrolled, for example, based on a second set of predetermined securityrules that may be defined, generated, and provided for enforcement withrespect to the network and computing environment within the securedboundary. The first and second sets of predetermined security rules maybe distinctly defined according to the different conditions and securityrequirements of the secured boundary and the internal network andcomputing environment, respectively.

Generally, the second set of predetermined security rules may be lessrestrictive than the first set of predetermined security rules withrespect to the monitoring and control of the data and network traffic.For example, the second set of security rules may be less restrictive soas to not inhibit or impede the availability and use of the data by theinsiders of the enterprise. The less restrictive characteristics of thesecond set of predetermined security rules may be provided, in part, bythe data access permissions possessed by the trusted insiders of theenterprise. Under certain conditions, the less restrictivecharacteristics may, for example, produce a security vulnerability thatmay be exploited by a trusted insider to perform acts to cause a dataleakage event while appearing to be dissociated from its occurrence.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method to predict ordetermine the occurrence of an impending data leakage event that may becaused by a trusted insider. Determining that the data leakage event mayoccur may allow for preemptive actions to be taken to prevent the eventand to otherwise mitigate consequences that may arise as a result of theevent.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method fordetecting a security threat to protect a secure resource. In variousaspects, the method may include monitoring user access requests andcorresponding user access conditions associated with the user and thesecure resource, and determining a user behavior pattern associated withthe user access requests and corresponding user access conditions. Auser behavioral state associated with a user access request andcorresponding user access conditions may be determined, where the userbehavior pattern and the user behavioral state may include emotionpatterns and emotional states of the user. A discrepancy between theuser behavior pattern and the user behavioral state may be detected. Asecurity risk level may be determined, with respect to the user accessrequest, based on the discrepancy. A security risk level may bedetermined with respect to the user access request based on thediscrepancy. The security threat may be detected based on the securityrisk level. A protective security action may be performed with respectto the secure resource based on the security threat. In an aspect, themethod may include determining an emotional state of the user based on afacial image of the user.

Advantageously, the present invention may be implemented to improvecomputer, network, and data security by enabling data security threatdetection based on a user's interactions and corresponding emotions(i.e., behaviors) with respect to a secured resource. In particular, theimprovement is provided by rules that enable detection of a securitythreat based on a discrepancy in the emotions of the user, with respectto the secured resource, that may be identified based on facial imagesof the user. Accordingly, the improvement provides capabilities toautomated data security threat detection systems that previously did notexist. Additional advantages of the present invention may be readilyapparent to those of skill in the art as described herein.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram depicting a security managementsystem 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.The security management system 100 may include a client device 110, asecure resource device 120, and a secure resource access managementdevice 130, each interconnected over a network 102. While FIG. 1 depictsthree discrete devices, other arrangements may be contemplated. Forexample, the client device 110, the secure resource device 120, and/orthe secure resource access management device 130 may include one or moreintegrated or distinct devices.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the network 102 mayinclude, for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), apersonal area network (PAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), awireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless mesh network, a widearea network (WAN) such as the Internet, or the like. The network 102may include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. Generally, thenetwork 102 may include any combination of connections and protocols forsupporting communications between the client device 110, the secureresource device 120, and the secure resource access management device130, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the client device 110,the secure resource device 120, and/or the secure resource accessmanagement device 130 may include a computing platform or node such as awearable device, an implantable device, a mobile or smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a server such asa database server, a virtual machine, or the like. In the variousembodiments, the client device 110, the secure resource device 120,and/or the secure resource access management device 130 may otherwiseinclude any other type of computing platform, computer system, orinformation system capable of sending and receiving data to and fromanother device, such as by way of the network 102. In certainembodiments, the client device 110, the secure resource device 120,and/or the secure resource access management device 130 may includeinternal and external hardware components, such as described withreference to FIG. 3. In other embodiments, the client device 110, thesecure resource device 120, and/or the secure resource access managementdevice 130 may be implemented in a cloud computing environment, such asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the client device 110 mayinclude, for example, a client computing platform that hosts a clientapplication 112. In the embodiment, the client device 110 may include,for example, an image-capture device such as a camera (not depicted).The client device 110 may implement a combination of devices andtechnologies such as network devices and device drivers to support theoperation of the client application 112 and the camera, and to provide aplatform enabling communications between the client device 110, thesecure resource device 120, and/or the secure resource access managementdevice 130, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

The client application 112 may include, for example, an application orprogram such as a software program, one or more subroutines contained ina program, an application programming interface, or the like. In anembodiment of the present invention, the client application 112 may beimplemented by a user to, for example, query, access, or request accessto data and resources over a network. For example, the clientapplication 112 may be implemented by the user to communicate an accessrequest over the network 102. The data and resources may include thosestored or hosted on a computing platform such as a database serverconnected to the network 102. The data and resources may include, forexample, a secure resource 122 which may be stored or hosted on thesecure resource device 120, as depicted in FIG. 1.

The camera may include, for example, a camera or video camera as suchmay be integrated into a computing platform or device such as a mobileor smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, or the like. In an embodiment of the present invention, thecamera may be implemented to generate image-capture data. Theimage-capture data may include, for example, captured or recorded imagesand video including facial expressions and gestures of a user of theclient device 110. The user may include, for example, a person orindividual such as an insider, employee, or contractor of an enterprise.The client application 112 may be, for example, required by a securityprotocol or rules of the network 102 in order to access the data andresources over the network. The camera may operate under the control ofclient application 112.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the secure resource device120 may include, for example, a computing platform that hosts the secureresource 122. The secure resource device 120 may implement a combinationof devices and technologies such as network devices and device driversto support the operation and availability of the secure resource 122,and to provide a platform enabling communications between the clientdevice 110, the secure resource device 120, and/or the secure resourceaccess management device 130, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

The secure resource 122 may include, for example, an application orprogram such as a software program, one or more subroutines contained ina program, an application programming interface, or the like. In anembodiment of the present invention, the secure resource 122 mayinclude, for example, data and resources such as sensitive, protected,confidential, at-risk, sensitive, secured, or controlled-access data andresources that may be made accessible or otherwise available over anetwork such as the network 102. The secure resource 122 may include,for example, enterprise or organizational data and/or software programsthat may be implemented in supporting various functions, activities,processes, and/or operations of an enterprise or organization. The dataand resources may be made accessible over the network 102, for example,in response to a request for access as such request may be received froma client such as the client application 112. The secure resource 122 maybe, for example, stored, processed, accessed, handled, distributed,and/or manipulated directly or by way of an application such as adatabase management system.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the secure resource accessmanagement device 130 may include, for example, a computing platformthat hosts a secure resource access management program 140. The secureresource access management device 130 may implement a combination ofdevices and technologies such as network devices and device drivers tosupport the operation of the secure resource access management program140, and to provide a platform enabling communications between theclient device 110, the secure resource device 120, and/or the secureresource access management device 130, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention.

The secure resource access management program 140 may include, forexample, an application or program such as a software program, one ormore subroutines contained in a program, an application programminginterface, or the like. The secure resource access management program140 may be implemented to monitor and control database and user accessactivities, and events that may be caused by the activities, as such maybe associated with data and resources such as the secure resource 122.The secure resource access management program 140 may include a datacollection module 142, a cognitive security engine 144, a data accessmodule 146, and a data storage 138.

The data collection module 142 collects data related to user accessrequests. The data collection module 132 may store the retrieved data inthe data storage 148 for later retrieval and use.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the collected data mayinclude user access request data associated with a user, along with useraccess conditions data and image-capture data corresponding to the useraccess request data. In the embodiment, the collected data may alsoinclude historical user access request data associated with the user,along with historical user access conditions data and historicalimage-capture data corresponding to the historical user access requestdata. In the embodiment, the user access request data may include datarelated to a query or transaction seeking access to data and resources,such as the secure resource 122, residing on the secure resource device120. In the embodiment, the user access request data may include anidentifier associated with the user. The user may include a person orindividual of an enterprise (i.e., an insider).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the user access conditionsdata may include, for example, data related to contextual andenvironmental conditions associated with a user access request of auser. The contextual conditions may include, for example, calendar orscheduled events corresponding to a time of the user access request,such as a time and date of a meeting involving the user. Theenvironmental conditions may include, for example, a network connectionquality and speed by which the user access request of a user wascommunicated, such as with respect to the network 102 and the clientdevice 110.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image-capture data mayinclude, for example, data corresponding to frontal facial images of auser associated with user access requests. In the embodiment, theimage-capture data may be obtained, for example, by the camera of theclient device 110 at a time corresponding to the received user accessrequest.

The cognitive security engine 144 determines a behavioral pattern of theuser associated with user access requests and corresponding user accessconditions, determines a behavior state of the user associated with auser access request and corresponding user access conditions, detects adiscrepancy between the user behavior state and the user behaviorpattern, and determines a security risk level associated with the useraccess request based on the discrepancy and a sensitively level of asecure resource such as the secure resource 122. The user behaviorpattern and the user behavior state may include emotional patterns andstates of the user, respectively.

For example, the cognitive security engine 144 may implement aclassifier that may be trained based on training data that may beclassified in terms of patterns of behavior corresponding to potentialsecurity risks. Various classification algorithms or techniques may beused to classify the training data, which may involve the use of, forexample, factor analyses algorithms, exploratory factor analysesalgorithms, principal component analyses algorithms, neural networks,maximum likelihood estimation algorithms, various types of multivariatestatistical methods, support vector machines, random forest, and/or deepfeature synthesis algorithms. The appropriate choice of the trainingdata, the classifications, and the predefined security criteria may bechosen as a matter of design choice, based, for example, on securityindustry best practices.

The data access module 146 detects a security threat based on thesecurity risk level and a security or policy protocol, determines andgenerates commands for executing a protective security action based onthe security threat, and performs the protective security action withrespect to the secure resource. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the data access module 146 may include, for example, adatabase activity monitor, a file activity monitor, an applicationactivity monitor, a user activity monitor, and the like. In theembodiment, the data access module 146 may include, for example, apolicy engine by which to determine and generate the commands forexecuting the protective security action.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an aspect of thesecurity management system 100, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

At step S202, a user or data access request is received from a user. Theuser access request may be received by the secure resource device 120over the network 102, and may be communicated or sent from the clientdevice 110 from the user by way of the client application 112. The useraccess request may include, for example, query or access datacorresponding to the user access request.

At step S204, the data collection module 142 collects the data relatedto the user access request and the associated user. For example, thedata collection module 142 may implement one or more crawlers or otherprograms and methods to periodically run database queries with respectto the secure resource device 120 to collect the data. In an embodimentof the present invention, the data may be collected for continuousmonitoring of user access requests and corresponding user accessconditions associated with individual users and the secure resource.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the collected data mayinclude current and historical user access request data associated withthe user, along with current and historical user access conditions dataand current and historical image-capture data corresponding to thecurrent and historical user access request data. The current andhistorical user access request data, user access conditions data, andimage-capture data may be collected based on an identifier of the usersuch as may be received with the user access request. In the embodiment,the data collection module 142 may also collect data associated with apopulation of users similar to the user associated with the user accessrequest. For example, the population of users may include users havingsimilar data access permissions. Generally, the population of users maybe identified as a matter of design.

At step S206, the cognitive security engine 144 determines a behavioralstate of the user associated with the received user access request.

Facial expressions may provide cues to emotions or moods experienced bya person (i.e., a user) when accessing data and resources such as thesecure resource 122, during a real-time conversation (e.g., during avideo conferencing session), while the person is reading or composing anemail message or other form of written communication, and so on. Facialexpression recognition systems may be used to identify a person orcharacteristics of the person (e.g., the age and gender of the person),recognize facial expressions performed by the person over time (e.g., bymatching selected facial features or expressions with images stored in afacial expression database), and determine (or infer) an emotional stateof the person based on the facial expressions performed by the personover time. A facial expression recognition system may detect expressionsassociated with facial features (e.g., eyes, eyebrows, nose, or mouth)and changes in facial feature expressions (e.g., changes in thegeometric relationships between the eyes and eyebrows or nose and mouth)using machine-learning based techniques. As movement of facial musclesthat lead to particular facial expressions may be involuntarily orunintentionally performed by a person in a particular emotional state,the particular facial expressions may be a reliable indicator of theperson's particular emotional state.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the behavioral state of theuser may be determined with respect to the user access request dataassociated with the user and the secure resource 122. In the embodiment,the behavioral state of the user may be determined based on the useraccess conditions data and the image capture data corresponding to theuser access request data. The behavioral state of the user may includeor be determined based on an emotional state of the user. For example,the emotional state of the user may be determined to be happy, sad,angry, fearful, surprised, and/or disgusted.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the emotional state of theuser may be determined based on user access conditions data andimage-capture data corresponding to the user access request data of theuser. In the embodiment, the cognitive security engine 144 may implementa facial expression recognition system and an emotion detectionalgorithm to determine the emotional state of the user. The emotionalstate of the user may be determined based on the image-capture datacorresponding to the user. In the embodiment, the image-capture data mayinclude facial image data associated with the user with respect to timesat which the received user access request was received. For example, theimage-capture data may include visual image data representing the user'sface or facial region during, near, and at a time at which the usercommunicated the user access request or otherwise caused the user accessrequest to be received. In the embodiment, the emotional state of theuser may be determined with respect to contextual and environmentalconditions associated with the user access request.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the emotional state of theuser may be determined based on a biometric measure of the user. Thebiometric measure may include, for example, a heart rate or a bloodpressure measurement. For example, the heart rate or blood pressuremeasurement may be determined based on data received from an applicationresiding on the client device 110. The application may include, forexample, a heart rate or blood pressure monitoring application.

For example, the cognitive security engine 144 may determine, based oncomputations by the emotion detection algorithm with respect to theimage-capture data, that an emotional state of a user is angry withrespect to a user access request. The emotional state of the user may bedetermined to be affected by associated user access conditions dataindicating poor network connection quality and speed by which the useraccess request was communicated.

At step S208, the cognitive security engine 144 determines a behavioralpattern of the user associated with the received user access request. Inthe embodiment, the behavioral pattern of the user may be determinedwith respect to the historical user access request data associated withthe user and the secure resource 122. In the embodiment, the behavioralpattern of the user may be determined based on the historical useraccess conditions data and the historical image capture datacorresponding to the historical user access request data. In anembodiment of the present invention, the behavioral pattern of the usermay be determined based on a sequence of determined behavioral states ofthe user. For example, the behavioral pattern may be determined based ona sequence of determined emotional states of the user with respect tothe secure resource 122.

At step S210, the cognitive security engine 144 detects a discrepancy oranomaly between the determined behavioral state and the determinedbehavioral pattern of the user. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the discrepancy may include a deviation in the behavioralstate of the user with respect to the behavioral pattern of the user.The discrepancy may be indicative of one or more potential securityrisks posed by the user. The cognitive security engine 144 mayimplement, for example, various types of statistical methods along withanomaly detection algorithms such as those that may be density-based,clustering-based, support vector machine-based, random forest-based,and/or deep feature synthesis-based. Generally, the methods andalgorithms used may be chosen as a matter of design.

For example, a discrepancy may be detected where a behavioral pattern ofa user with respect to the secure resource device 120 is determined toinclude mostly happy emotions, and a behavioral state of the user withrespect to the secure resource device 120 is determined to include afearful emotion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the discrepancy may bedetected, for example, based on determined behavioral states andpatterns of the user preceding a grant of access to the secure resource122 with respect to determined behavioral states and patterns of theuser following a grant of access to the secure resource 122.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the discrepancy may bedetected, for example, based on determined behavioral states andpatterns of users of a population of users similar to the userassociated with the user access request.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the discrepancy may bedetected, for example, by granting partial access to the secure resource122. For example, sensitive data may be randomly redacted or masked inorder to examine a user's emotional response to the redacted or maskeddata.

At step S212, the cognitive security engine 144 determines a securityrisk level associated with the user access request based on thediscrepancy and a sensitivity level of a secure resource such as thesecure resource 122.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the security risk level maybe determined based on the determined behavioral state and pattern ofthe user, the detected discrepancy between the behavioral state andpattern, and a data sensitivity level of the secure resource 122. Thedata sensitivity level may be, for example, predetermined based on asecurity or policy protocol.

At step S214, the data access module 146 determines whether the securityrisk level associated with the user access request meets or exceeds apredetermined threshold. In an embodiment of the present invention, thedata access module 146 may detect a security threat based on acorresponding predetermined threshold that is met or exceeded by anassociated security risk level. As an example, predetermined thresholdsmay be defined in qualitative terms (e.g., values) corresponding to low,intermediate, and high security risk level. The predetermined thresholdsmay be defined, for example, according to a security or policy protocol.Generally, the manner in which predetermined thresholds are defined withrespect to security risk levels may be chosen as a matter of design.Where the security risk level does not exceed a predetermined threshold,the method ends.

At step S216, the data access module 146 determines and generatescommands for executing a protective security action based on thesecurity threat, and performs the protective security action withrespect to the secure resource.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the protective securityaction may be determined based on whether the security risk levelassociated with the user access request meets or exceeds one or morepredetermined thresholds. In the embodiment, the protective securityaction may include, for example, setting and enforcing a level of accesssuch as by granting or denying access to the user access request. In theembodiment, the protective security action may include, for example,granting partial access to the user access request, such as by blockingor masking portions of the secure resource 122. In the embodiment, theprotective security action may include, for example, generating andcommunicating an alert. In the embodiment, the protective securityaction may include continuous monitoring of the user access requests andcorresponding user access conditions associated with the user and thesecure resource.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a client device 110, a secureresource device 120, and/or a secure resource access management device130, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Asdepicted in FIG. 3, the client device 110, the secure resource device120, and/or the secure resource access management device 130 may includeone or more processors 902, one or more computer-readable RAMs 904, oneor more computer-readable ROMs 906, one or more computer readablestorage media 908, device drivers 912, read/write drive or interface914, network adapter or interface 916, all interconnected over acommunications fabric 918. The network adapter 916 communicates with anetwork 930. Communications fabric 918 may be implemented with anyarchitecture designed for passing data and/or control informationbetween processors (such as microprocessors, communications and networkprocessors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any otherhardware components within a system.

One or more operating systems 910, and one or more application programs911, such as the secure resource access management program 140 residingon the secure resource access management device 130, as depicted in FIG.1, are stored on one or more of the computer readable storage media 908for execution by one or more of the processors 902 via one or more ofthe respective RAMs 904 (which typically include cache memory). In theillustrated embodiment, each of the computer readable storage media 908may be a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive, CD-ROM,DVD, memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, asemiconductor storage device such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory orany other computer-readable tangible storage device that can store acomputer program and digital information.

The client device 110, the secure resource device 120, and/or the secureresource access management device 130 may also include a R/W drive orinterface 914 to read from and write to one or more portable computerreadable storage media 926. Application programs 911 on the clientdevice 110, the secure resource device 120, and/or the secure resourceaccess management device 130 may be stored on one or more of theportable computer readable storage media 926, read via the respectiveR/W drive or interface 914 and loaded into the respective computerreadable storage media 908. The client device 110, the secure resourcedevice 120, and/or the secure resource access management device 130 mayalso include a network adapter or interface 916, such as a TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP) adapter card or wirelesscommunication adapter (such as a 4G wireless communication adapter usingOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology).Application programs 911 may be downloaded to the computing device froman external computer or external storage device via a network (forexample, the Internet, a local area network or other wide area networkor wireless network) and network adapter or interface 916. From thenetwork adapter or interface 916, the programs may be loaded ontocomputer readable storage media 908. The network may comprise copperwires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. The client device 110,the secure resource device 120, and/or the secure resource accessmanagement device 130 may also include a display screen 920, a keyboardor keypad 922, and a computer mouse or touchpad 924. Device drivers 912interface to display screen 920 for imaging, to keyboard or keypad 922,to computer mouse or touchpad 924, and/or to display screen 920 forpressure sensing of alphanumeric character entry and user selections.The device drivers 912, R/W drive or interface 914 and network adapteror interface 916 may include hardware and software (stored on computerreadable storage media 908 and/or ROM 906).

The secure resource access management device 130 can be a standalonenetwork server, or represent functionality integrated into one or morenetwork systems. In general, the client device 110, the secure resourcedevice 120, and/or the secure resource access management device 130 canbe a laptop computer, desktop computer, specialized computer server, orany other computer system known in the art. In certain embodiments, thesecure resource access management device 130 represents computer systemsutilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool ofseamless resources when accessed through a network, such as a LAN, WAN,or a combination of the two. This implementation may be preferred fordata centers and for cloud computing applications. In general, clientdevice 110, secure resource device 120, and secure resource accessmanagement device 130 can be any programmable electronic device, or canbe any combination of such devices.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 includes one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 4 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 4) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and secure resource access management 96.Secure resource access management 96 may include functionality forenabling the cloud computing environment to perform steps of thedisclosed method, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.Therefore, the present invention has been disclosed by way of examplefor purposes of illustration, and not limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, the methodcomprising: determining a behavioral pattern of a user based onhistorical data access events and historical data access conditionscorresponding to the historical data access events, wherein the dataaccess events are associated with a computer enterprise system;receiving, from a computing node connected to the computer enterprisesystem, a data access request from the user with respect to a secureresource; determining a behavioral state of the user with respect to thedata access request and data access conditions corresponding to the dataaccess request; detecting a discrepancy between the behavioral patternand the behavioral state of the user; determining a security risk levelbased on the discrepancy; and in response to determining that thesecurity risk level exceeds a predetermined threshold, performing asecurity action with respect to the secure resource.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the behavioral pattern and the behavioral state of theuser are determined based on corresponding emotional states of the user,and an emotional state of the user is determined by applying an emotiondetection algorithm to image-capture data corresponding to the user. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the image-capture data comprises facialimage data associated with the user at times at which the user causedthe data access request and historical data access requestscorresponding to the secure resource to be received.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the discrepancy comprises a deviation in emotioncorresponding to the behavioral state of the user with respect to thebehavioral pattern of the user.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thediscrepancy is detected based on historically determined behavioralstates and patterns of the user preceding corresponding grants of accessto the secure resource, with respect to historically determinedbehavioral states and patterns of the user following the correspondinggrants of access to the secure resource.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the discrepancy comprises a deviation in emotion correspondingto the behavioral state of the user with respect to behavioral patternsof users having an identical job role as the user.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the discrepancy is detected based on historicallydetermined behavioral states and patterns of the user precedingcorresponding grants of access to the secure resource, with respect tohistorically determined behavioral states and patterns of the usershaving the identical job role as the user preceding corresponding grantsof access to the secure resource.
 8. A computer system, the computersystem comprising: one or more computer processors, one or morecomputer-readable storage media, and program instructions stored on oneor more of the computer-readable storage media for execution by at leastone of the one or more computer processors, the program instructions,when executed by the at least one of the one or more computerprocessors, causing the computer system to perform a method comprising:determining a behavioral pattern of a user based on historical dataaccess events and historical data access conditions corresponding to thehistorical data access events, wherein the data access events areassociated with a computer enterprise system; receiving, from acomputing node connected to the computer enterprise system, a dataaccess request from the user with respect to a secure resource;determining a behavioral state of the user with respect to the dataaccess request and data access conditions corresponding to the dataaccess request; detecting a discrepancy between the behavioral patternand the behavioral state of the user; determining a security risk levelbased on the discrepancy; and in response to determining that thesecurity risk level exceeds a predetermined threshold, performing asecurity action with respect to the secure resource.
 9. The computersystem of claim 8, wherein the behavioral pattern and the behavioralstate of the user are determined based on corresponding emotional statesof the user, and an emotional state of the user is determined byapplying an emotion detection algorithm to image-capture datacorresponding to the user.
 10. The computer system of claim 9, whereinthe image-capture data comprises facial image data associated with theuser at times at which the user caused the data access request andhistorical data access requests corresponding to the secure resource tobe received.
 11. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the discrepancycomprises a deviation in emotion corresponding to the behavioral stateof the user with respect to the behavioral pattern of the user.
 12. Thecomputer system of claim 11, wherein the discrepancy is detected basedon historically determined behavioral states and patterns of the userpreceding corresponding grants of access to the secure resource, withrespect to historically determined behavioral states and patterns of theuser following the corresponding grants of access to the secureresource.
 13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the discrepancycomprises a deviation in emotion corresponding to the behavioral stateof the user with respect to behavioral patterns of users having anidentical job role as the user.
 14. The computer system of claim 13,wherein the discrepancy is detected based on historically determinedbehavioral states and patterns of the user preceding correspondinggrants of access to the secure resource, with respect to historicallydetermined behavioral states and patterns of the users having theidentical job role as the user preceding corresponding grants of accessto the secure resource.
 15. A computer program product, the computerprogram product comprising: one or more computer-readable storagedevices and program instructions stored on at least one of the one ormore computer-readable storage devices for execution by at least one ormore computer processors of a computer system, the program instructions,when executed by the at least one of the one or more computerprocessors, causing the computer system to perform a method comprising:determining a behavioral pattern of a user based on historical dataaccess events and historical data access conditions corresponding to thehistorical data access events, wherein the data access events areassociated with a computer enterprise system; receiving, from acomputing node connected to the computer enterprise system, a dataaccess request from the user with respect to a secure resource;determining a behavioral state of the user with respect to the dataaccess request and data access conditions corresponding to the dataaccess request; detecting a discrepancy between the behavioral patternand the behavioral state of the user; determining a security risk levelbased on the discrepancy; and in response to determining that thesecurity risk level exceeds a predetermined threshold, performing asecurity action with respect to the secure resource.
 16. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein the behavioral pattern and thebehavioral state of the user are determined based on correspondingemotional states of the user, and an emotional state of the user isdetermined by applying an emotion detection algorithm to image-capturedata corresponding to the user.
 17. The computer program product ofclaim 16, wherein the image-capture data comprises facial image dataassociated with the user at times at which the user caused the dataaccess request and historical data access requests corresponding to thesecure resource to be received.
 18. The computer program product ofclaim 16, wherein the discrepancy comprises a deviation in emotioncorresponding to the behavioral state of the user with respect to thebehavioral pattern of the user.
 19. The computer program product ofclaim 18, wherein the discrepancy is detected based on historicallydetermined behavioral states and patterns of the user precedingcorresponding grants of access to the secure resource, with respect tohistorically determined behavioral states and patterns of the userfollowing the corresponding grants of access to the secure resource. 20.The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the discrepancycomprises a deviation in emotion corresponding to the behavioral stateof the user with respect to behavioral patterns of users having anidentical job role as the user.